Date: 3/30/99

Time: 8:30

Type: Symposium

Number: 93

Compatibility of biological control of pine shoot beetle with cultural practices in Christmas tree plantations, nurseries and landscapes

*C.S. Sadof, Dept. Entomology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907
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An integrated program was developed to manage Tomicus pinperda in pine Christmas tree fields. Components of the program include sanitation to reduce availability of cut trees and stumps that serve as brood material, use of trap logs to attract parent beetles into cut trees which are subsequently destroyed and an insecticide spray to control shoot-feeding beetles. Scouting throughout the production season is required with mechanical removal of infested shoots or insecticide sprays mandated upon beetle detection. This management program was formalized into a Compliance Program in cooperation with regulatory agencies and tested in 1995 and 1996 in a total of 48 fields in Michigan and Indiana. Indiana fields were conducted in heavily infested areas surrounded by Scotch Pine wind breaks. Indiana fields had an average of 79% of trap logs containing T. piniperda galleries before trap log destruction. In fields where all program requirements were completed, percentage of trees with T. piniperda shoot-feeding damage ranged from 0-4%. In comparison, shoot-feeding damage was observed on 28-67% of trees in unmanaged fields where brood material was available for colonization by parent beetles. Information provided by cooperating growers indicated that Compliance Program activities could be readily integrated into standard production practices. Despite its success, this program is not likely to be compatible with classical biological control because introduced natural enemies are likely to be attracted to trap logs and destroyed before they can regulate the pest population.

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